Monthly Archives: October 2009

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The most important and most dangerous moments of an animal’s life is its birth. Nature at 7 p.m. Sunday follows the birth and first day of various animals ranging from marmoset to moose, to elephant and gorilla.

More than 40 years after the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, the hunt for the killer resurfaces on Masterpiece Contemporary at 8 p.m. Sunday when high-profile TV journalist, Catherine Heathcote begins to unravel the mystery.

Charles Mitchell, President of the National City Bank (now Citibank), and a small group of bankers, brokers, and speculators manipulated the stock market, grew wealthy, and helped create the economic boom of the Twenties. Monday at 8 p.m., American Experience: The Crash of 1929 captures the unbounded optimism of an age, at a time when the stock market promised permanent prosperity.more →

Halloween on KLRU-Q is a night of chilling history and supernatural tales. Throughout the night, we’ll also be showing previews of a new series coming in 2010, Haunted Texas. Tune in from 7 p.m. to midnight.

The evening begins at 7 with the Ghosts of Elitch Theater. Will the renovation of a world renowned playhouse reveal the secrets of those who haunt the halls?

Ghosts of the Underground descends deep below London’s streets to prowl the tunnels and secrets of the oldest public transportation system.

Secret Life of Ghosts and Werewolves seeks to offer scientific explanations behind the myths and legends of the weird and the creepy.

Masterpiece Theater takes on Dracula in this modern adaptation of the classic Bram Stoker novel.

The History of the Devil shows how cultures worldwide have used the symbol of evil to their advantage.

As your PBS station, it is KLRU’s mission to bring people together around important issues. KLRU does this through various educational and outreach initiatives. This fall, KLRU will present 2nd Half of Life, a six-part series airing weekly on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. beginning October 8 and running til November 12. Created for one of the best-educated, healthiest, and most privileged generations in American history — the Boomers — the series aims to help people reinvent life after the age of 50. Additional resources at KLRU’s 2nd Half of Life Web site at klru.org/2ndhalfoflife 2nd Half of Life is made possible thanks to our sponsor Seton Family of Hospitals and in cooperation with the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

This week:Retirement Revolution
The months since Spring 2008 have not been kind to the American economy or to the retirement accounts of millions of Americans. This program has undertaken a new mission, to help older citizens do better with a bit less and to navigate tougher financial waters with determination and good cheer. It features personal stories as well as expert commentaries. From light-hearted stories on self-defense and second careers to solid advice about money, health and Medicare, “The New Reality” talks to experts who analyze the financial problems of retirement and demonstrate ways to richer, healthier retirement years.

Join KLRU in the studio for a Texas Monthly Talks taping with Director Richard Linklater. Evan Smith talks with the Texas filmmaker about his career and his next project, Me and Orson Welles, which hits theaters November 25. Taping starts at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4. Doors open at 11 a.m. RSVP here

Join KLRU’s In Context for a special performance by Austin musician James Polk. RSVP here

James Polk has been a part of Austin’s jazz scene since the ’60s when he attended Huston-Tillotson College. In the late ’70s, Polk was an organist for the Ray Charles Orchestra and was arranger for two of Charles’ Grammy-nominated songs “Ain’t It So” and “I Wish You Were Here Tonight.” He returned to Austin in the ’80s to pursue his education and to teach others. He retired from teaching in 2006 and he received his Professor Emeritus status of Jazz Studies in the School of Music at Texas State University in San Marcos. Polk has been inducted into the Austin Chronicle Music Poll Hall of Fame.

In Context reflects the arts culture in Austin’s community and explores the creative people and unique things which make our lives more interesting. It provides a glimpse into the lives of people who follow their dreams, the poets of form and function, the obscure, the inspiring, the strange and the beautiful

Nature Sunday at 7 p.m. features the returning saga of Cloud, the wild, white stallion finds us back in the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana.
A nation teeters on the brink of civil war in Masterpiece Contemporary on Sunday at 8 p.m in this real-life political thriller about the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa.
For over four decades, this artist has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a figure whose body of work achieves greater depths of mystery and meaning as time goes on; see Leonard Cohen Live in London at 8 p.m. Monday.more →

Please join Evan Smith and KLRU’s Texas Monthly Talks as we interview three authors from this year’s Texas Book Festival: novelist Jane Smiley, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and historian Taylor Branch. You’re invited to these special tapings at the Texas State Capitol on Saturday, October 31. Each taping will last approximately 45 minutes, including audience Q&A if the guest’s schedule permits. Once taping begins, no entry or exit will be allowed.

Jane Smiley
Taping room doors close at 9:10 a.m.
*PLEASE NOTE: The Capitol does not open to the public until 9 a.m. To reach the room in time for the taping, you will need to be at the Capitol door by 9 a.m.
Pulitzer-winning author Jane Smiley is known for her novels and essays about relationships, animals, politics and modern life.
RSVP for the Smiley taping here

Buzz Aldrin
Taping room doors close at 10:00 a.m.
Just over forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the moon – a fact known to virtually anyone who hears his name.
RSVP for the Aldrin taping here

Taylor Branch
Taping room doors close at 11:30 a.m.
Historian and author Taylor Branch earned a Pulitzer Prize for Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63.RSVP for the Branch taping here

LOCATION

Capitol Annex, Room LCC-E2.002 on Level E2.

Take any Capitol elevator to level E2 and proceed down the hallway. Keep walking, and Room LCC-E2.002 will be on your right (LCC stands for Legislative Conference Center).

As your PBS station, it is KLRU’s mission to bring people together around important issues. KLRU does this through various educational and outreach initiatives. This fall, KLRU will present 2nd Half of Life, a six-part series airing weekly on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. beginning October 8 and running til November 12. Created for one of the best-educated, healthiest, and most privileged generations in American history — the Boomers — the series aims to help people reinvent life after the age of 50. Additional resources at KLRU’s 2nd Half of Life Web site at klru.org/2ndhalfoflife 2nd Half of Life is made possible thanks to our sponsor Seton Family of Hospitals and in cooperation with the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

This week:
Back-to-back episodes of Life (Part 2) at 8 p.m.

Life (Part 2) – “Brain Exercise”
Robert Lipsyte learns about brain fitness technology and competes against some younger opponents to find out whose mind is in the best shape. Then biological psychiatrist P Murali Doraiswamy, cognitive neuroscientist Denise Park, and psychiatrist / author Gary Small explain the best ways to keep our brains in peak condition.

Life (Part 2) – “Mechanics of Aging”
Meet a professor whose students build “empathy suits” that give students new insights into how it feels to be older. Then, media giant Martha Stewart details her campaign to improve geriatric care in America. And New Yorker contributor and comedy writer Patricia Marx explains the stages of life—with the help of a bowl of fruit.

Thanks to everyone who attended the 10/20 KLRU Community Screening on local productions. Evan Smith and Lynn Boswell shared humorous stories about creating Texas Monthly Talks for the last 8 years and we learned that Evan has made more 1/2-hour TV shows than both Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld. Newcomer Chet Garner described putting himself into a challenging position while filming The Austin Daytripper … he had to eat tape two BBQ segments back to back. And lastly Linda Lehmusvirta and Tom Spencer talked about turning their passion for gardening into a weekly, regional gardening show and how viewers have helped to make Central Texas Gardener what it is today.